Shajmaty: <Knight13>: "I don't think this opening is good for Black because of the passed pawns on the Queen side White's gonna have later on." It's highly probable that White won't still have those two pawns after move -let's say- 35 or 40. The Volga/Benk÷ is definitely one of the best choices for Black when facing 1. d4.

Shajmaty: <midknightblue: Review of the database seems to show a lot of GM's play b3, and white does very well. Any thoughts on how black should deal with 11. b3, and is it really as strong as the database here suggests? Pinski favors 11...Bc8!> Yes, 11. b3, Bc8 seems to be O.K., although 12. Nh4 has shown good results for White. I should also try 11...Ra7 planning Qa8.

if white could advance in safety on the queenside, the Benko Gambit would have been out of business decades ago. The point is the g7 bishop's long black (a1-h8) diagonal, combined with play on the white pawns along the a and b files, ties white's hands. Black has long lasting positional compensation for the sack'ed pawn. Even in an endgame!

Fezzik: Computers generally don't "get" gambits, but here the ones I've tested suggest that White has a minimal edge for the pawn, usually less than .3. So, by computer standards, the Benko falls very comfortably into the main stream of openings.

The idea of giving up a pawn to allow white an outside passer seems crazy, but as Benko and Alburt proved, Black has an *endgame* advantage in most Benko lines. The key variation these days is 11.Rb1, where White retains the extra pawn and central pressure.

If White is not in a hurry to reach the endgame, white can gain a significant advantage against best play. I think the Benko is on its way out as a dangerous weapon for Black at the highest levels. Nicolai Pedersen's *Play the Benko* attempts to sidestep the 11.Rb1 line with 9...Nfd7!?, but there appear to be serious flaws in his analysis and White should retain the advantage even there.

The Benko just doesn't give Black quite as much as other openings. However, if your competition is below about 2500, it should be just fine!

bronkenstein: KID (@ top level) goes through similar crisis today , but people are at least playing it , no matter the awful statistics (@ recent euro club cup, I can┤t remember a single black KID victory on ┤top boards┤ but , on the other hand , not even a single Volga played that I can remember from that event !?).

Speaking of it on ┤not-so-leet┤ lvl (ie from my own experience ;) , and from black POW), people deviate so early and so much that the picture is totally the opposite , ie you have an easy equaliser with good chances for initiative.

Just to illustrate , the strongest player that I ever had the chance to play Volga to (Elo 2395)went 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Nd2!? , the closest that I ever got to playing the main line was 4.cxb a6 5.b6 (against gyu somewhat below 2300), and I had 2295 gyu going 1.d4 c5 2.dxc?! once (talking about rated ┤long┤ games). Other people are often simply playing some unclear english lines (no d4-d5), or even avoiding to play early c4. So the opening is in excellent shape , and I am recomending it to any beginner. As fezzik said , <if your competition is below about 2500, it should be just fine!> =)

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